Thursday, January 31, 2013

We are all familiar with Charles Dickens’ character, Ebenezer Scrooge, a selfish, greedy, merciless man saved from eternal fire by three spirits who led him on a journey to the past, the present and the future, and, ultimately, Hell.

Dickens wrote his famed story in 1838. Interestingly enough, exactly thirty years after the novelist penned A Christmas Carol in England, in faraway Piedmont, Italy, a spirit indeed tapped a man’s shoulder and bid him follow.

The man was St. John Bosco, the endearing friend of the youth, the antithesis of Scrooge.

Don Bosco, as he was known, dedicated his priestly life to the welfare of wayward boys. A visionary and mystic, he was given a series of “dreams,” rather mystical visions, for the spiritual welfare of the boys of his “Oratory.”

One such vision was that of Hell. Stark, terrifying, it ultimately represented to Don Bosco’s boys the same outreach of Mercy that the Scrooge of fiction received–with the difference that what Don Bosco penned was no fiction, but Scriptural, dogmatic truth enhanced by experience.

After each “dream” Don Bosco gathered his boys and told them what he had been shown. He also left us a lengthy, detailed account. We publish a summary of his vision of Hell.

The Snares, the Demon, and the Weapons

After several nights awoken by an angelic visitor, Don Bosco was exhausted.

“Lest I should fall asleep and start dreaming, I set my pillow upright…and practically sat up, but soon, exhausted, I fell asleep. Immediately the same person of the night before appeared at my beside.”

“Get up and follow me!” he said.

Reluctantly, the saint followed and found himself in a desolate, desert-like place. As guide and guided trudged through the dismal valley, a delightful, green, flowery road opened before them. Don Bosco eagerly took to the path, but as he walked, realized it gently sloped downward.

He then saw that his boys and others were passing him left and right. Suddenly, one of them fell violently backwards, legs in the air, and as if pulled by an invisible snag, disappeared over a distant cliff. Several of the boys met with the same fate.

On closer inspection, Don Bosco realized that there were lassos on the ground made of such filmy fiber they were hardly detectable. They have spread cords for a net; by the wayside they have laid snares for me – Psalms 139:6.

“Do you know what this is?” the priest asked his guide.

“A mere nothing,” he answered. “Just plain human respect.”

At the guide’s bidding, Don Bosco picked up a snare, and began to pull.

“…I immediately felt resistance. I pulled harder only to feel …that I was being pulled down myself…and soon was at the mouth of a frightful cave…I kept tugging, and after a long while a huge, hideous monster emerged, clutching a rope to which all…the snares were tied.”

Letting go, Don Bosco turned to the guide who said,

“Now you know who he is.”

“I surely do, the devil himself!”

Now Don Bosco began to inspect the snares. Each bore an inscription: Pride, Disobedience, Envy, Impurity, Theft, Gluttony, Sloth, Anger and so on. He realized that the sins that trapped most boys were those of impurity, disobedience, and pride, though others caught them as well. Those of “human respect” pulled them down swiftly.

As he looked even closer, he spotted knives among the snares placed there by a helping hand. These had inscriptions on them as well: meditation, attentive spiritual reading. There were also swords that read: devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, frequent Holy Communion, and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, St. Louis Gonzaga, and other saints. There were also hammers symbolizing Confession. The boys that made use of these weapons were able to cut themselves free.

The Place of No Return

As guide and priest continued, the road became ever steeper and increasingly devoid of vegetation and flowers. At a certain point it was so vertical Don Bosco could hardly stay upright.

“…at the bottom of this precipice, at the entrance of a dark valley, an enormous building loomed into sight, its towering portal tightly locked facing our road. When I finally arrived at the bottom, I felt smothered by a suffocating heat, while a greasy-greenish smoke, and flashes of scarlet flames rose behind those enormous walls that loomed higher than mountains.”

As Don Bosco looked up, he read a sign over the massive gates: The Place of No Return–and he knew they were at the gates of Hell.

Suddenly, the guide pointed to the distance, and Don Bosco saw a boy racing down the path at an uncontrollable speed. As he approached, the horrified priest recognized one of his boys. The boy’s hair stood on end, his eyes bulged, and his arms flayed like those of one drowning.

“Let’s help him! Let’s stop him,” I shouted.”

“Leave him alone,” the guide replied.

“Why?!”

“Do you think you can restrain one who is fleeing from God’s just wrath?”

As the boy crashed into the portal, it sprang open with a roar, and instantly a thousand inner portals opened with a deafening clamor as if struck by a body propelled by an irresistible gale.

Other boys now came hurtling down the path, screaming in terror, arms outstretched. Some came down alone, others arm in arm, one boy being pushed by another. Each had his particular sin written on his forehead. Don Bosco recognized them as they crashed into the portal to be sucked into the endless corridor amid a long-drawn, fading, infernal echo. He called to them in anguish, but they did not hear him. As the gates stood momentarily open, Don Bosco caught a glimpse of something like furnace jaws spouting fiery balls.

“If so many of our boys end up this way, we are working in vain. How can we prevent such tragedies?”, asked Don Bosco.

“This is their present state,” answered the guide, “and that is where they would go were they to die now.”

Into the Gates

Another group of boys came hurtling down, and the portals momentarily opened.

“Let’s go in,” the guide said, as Don Bosco pulled back in horror.

“Come. You’ll learn much.”

“We entered that narrow, horrible corridor and whizzed through it with lightning speed. Threatening inscriptions shone eerily over all the inner gateways. The last one opened into a vast, grim courtyard with a large, forbidding entrance at the far end.”

“From here on,” said the guide, “no one may have a helpful companion, a comforting friend, a loving heart, a compassionate glance, or a benevolent word; all that is gone forever. Do you just want to see or would you rather experience these things yourself?”

“I only want to see!” answered Don Bosco readily.

Stepping through the forbidding gate, the guide took Don Bosco down a corridor to an observation platform behind a great glass wall. Gripped by an indescribable terror, Don Bosco beheld an immense cave sunk into the bowels of the mountains.

“The cave was ablaze, but not with an earthly fire with leaping tongues of flames. The entire cave, walls, ceiling, floor, iron, stones, wood, and coal…glowed white at temperatures of thousands of degrees…”

As he watched, with shrilling screams a few boys were plunged into the white heat as into a cauldron of liquid bronze. Instantly they too became incandescent and perfectly motionless.

A Terrible Choice

More frightened than ever Don Bosco asked,

“When these boys come dashing into this cave, don’t they know where they are going?”

“They surely do,” explained the guide, “They have been warned a thousand times, but they still choose to rush into the fire because they do not detest sin and are loath to forsake it. Furthermore, they despise and reject God’s incessant, merciful invitations to do penance. “

The guide then bid the priest look closer and he saw those poor wretches savagely striking at each other like mad dogs. Others clawed their own faces and hands, tearing their own flesh and spitefully throwing it about. Just then the entire ceiling of the cave became transparent as crystal and revealed a patch of heaven and their radiant companions safe for all eternity.

The poor wretches fumed with envy and burned with rage because they had once ridiculed the good. The wicked shall see and shall be angry. He shall gnash his teeth and pine away–Psalms 111:10

“Pressing my ear to the crystal window, I heard screams and sobs, blasphemies and imprecations against the saints.”

The guide then led Don Bosco into a lower cavern above which was written, Their worm shall not die and their fire shall not be quenched – Isaiah 66:24.

In this lower cave Don Bosco again beheld boys from the Oratory.

“…I drew closer…and noticed that they were covered with worms and vermin which gnawed at their vitals, hearts, eyes, hands, legs, and entire bodies so ferociously as to defy description. Helpless and motionless, they were prey to every kind of torment…”

Don Bosco again tried to talk to them but no one even looked at him or spoke to him. The guide then explained that the damned are totally deprived of freedom. Each must endure his punishment with no possible reprieve.

As he watched these wretched boys, again Don Bosco turned to his guide.

“How can these boys be damned? Last night they were still alive at the Oratory!”

“The boys you see here,” retorted the guide, “are all dead to God’s grace. Were they to die now or persist in their evil ways, they would indeed be damned.”

Don Bosco was also shown the atrocious remorse of those who had been pupils in his schools. What a torment to remember the innumerable favors, blessings, warnings and graces they had received at the Oratory, especially graces from the Blessed Virgin Mary. What torture to think that they could have been saved so easily if they only had kept their good resolutions. Indeed, Hell is paved with good intentions!

Sexual Sins

Lastly, Don Bosco was shown the damage that the sin of impurity causes, which is the sin that abuses the sacred gift of our sexuality which God meant to be legitimately used to unite a man and a woman and to procreate children.

Our Lord teaches that such sins are already sinful in accepted thoughts, in deliberate looks and, of course, in actions that are the result of impure thoughts and looks.

Don Bosco saw an entrance above which was written, The Sixth Commandment. The guide exclaimed,

“Transgressions of this commandment caused the eternal ruin of many boys.”

“Didn’t they go to Confession?” asked Don Bosco.

“They did, but they either omitted or insufficiently confessed the sins against the beautiful virtue of purity. Other boys may have fallen into that sin but once in their childhood, and, through shame, never confessed it or did so insufficiently. Others were not truly sorry or sincere in their resolve to avoid it in the future. There were some who, rather than examine their conscience, spent their time trying to figure out how best to deceive their confessor. Anyone dying in this frame of mind chooses to be among the damned, and so he is doomed for all eternity. Only those who die truly repentant shall be eternally happy.

Now, do you want to see why our merciful God brought you here? “

And the guide showed Don Bosco a group of boys whom he knew well who were in Hell because of this sin. Among them were some whose conduct seemed good. Don Bosco begged to be allowed to jot down their names so as to warn them. But the guide said it was not necessary.

“Always preach against immodesty. Bear in mind that even if you did admonish them individually, they would promise, but not always in earnest. For a firm resolution to avoid the sin of impurity one needs God’s grace, which will not be denied to your boys if they pray. God’s power is specially manifested through mercy and forgiveness. On your part, pray and offer sacrifices. As for the boys, let them listen to your admonitions and consult their consciences. They will know what to do.”

And the guide continued,

“Keep telling them that by obeying God, the church, their parents, and their superiors, even in little things, they will be saved. Warn them against idleness. Tell them to keep busy at all times, because the devil will not then have a chance to tempt them.”

On the Way Out

Now it was finally time to leave that place of dread. Don Bosco could hardly stand up, so the guide held him up gently and in no time at all they had retraced their steps through the terrible corridor. But as soon as they had stepped across the last portal, the guide said,

“Now that you have seen what others suffer, you too must experience a touch of hell.”

“No, no!” Don Bosco cried in terror.

“Look at this wall,” said the guide. “There are a thousand walls between this and the real fire of hell.”

When he said this, Don Bosco instinctively pulled back, but seizing his hand the guide touched it to the last wall of Hell.

“The sensation was so utterly excruciating that I leaped back with a scream and found myself sitting up in bed. My hand was stinging and I kept rubbing it to ease the pain. Next morning I noticed that it was swollen. Later the skin of my palm peeled off.”

Conclusion

As free human beings, we have the capacity to choose; otherwise, we would be mere robots. Free Will and Choice generate Responsibility, which, in turn places us necessarily at a stark crossroads between God, Who is Supreme Good, and the antithesis of God, which is total evil. If we choose God, we choose all that He is: Good, Beauty, Love, Bliss. If we choose against God, we have all that He is not: evil, hideousness, hate, misery. He has set water and fire before you: stretch forth your hand to which you will. Eccl.15:17

by Dr. Jose Maria Alcasid

On a crisp, cool and clear sunny morning blanketed by deep azure skies, a multitude of animated pro-life supporters amassed at the Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco, California to send an emphatic message to the promoters of the culture of death that is wreaking havoc in our days. The motley mix of infants, toddlers, teenagers, thirty-somethings, baby boomers and septuagenarians underscored the event’s broad grassroots appeal.

Past midday, an hour long rally on the grounds in front of City Hall preceded the momentous march which attracted a throng of 50,000 spirited people. An array of speakers made up of pro-life leaders and activists, abortion victims and survivors, as well as distinguished clerics graced the occasion, most prominent of whom were His Excellency Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, and the Most Reverend Salvatore J. Cordileone, Archbishop of San Francisco.

Among the distinguished speakers at the Walk for Life was His Excellency Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, and the Most Reverend Salvatore J. Cordileone, Archbishop of San Francisco, seen here with TFP members Mr. Philip Calder and Mr. Michael Whitcraft.

TFP members Philip Calder and Michael Whitcraft greeted and chatted briefly with the august prelates shortly after they spoke to the galvanized crowd and moments before the march officially started. The massive sea of marchers walked along a two mile stretch of Market Street that took them right into the city’s popular business and shopping district and ended across from the famous San Francisco landmark, the Ferry Building.

A partial view of the record 2013 gathering of pro-life supporters in San Francisco, California.

A handful of vociferous counter protestors showed up to manifest their opposition which did little to dampen the overwhelming enthusiasm of the advancing and parading pro-life legion. At the end of the successful march, an incident marred the TFP’s day of campaign when a visibly upset woman tore one of the group’s banners. TFP volunteers promptly called police who arrested her and then filed charges.

The TFP banner that was vandalized by a woman who couldn’t tolerate opposing opinions.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Here, the great saint recounts a vision in which the Blessed Mother emphasizes how important youth education is, as well as its inherent dangers

We must not worry about appearances when it comes to what people may think of us when doing our duty.

The great Saint John Bosco, founder of the Salesian Congregation, disclosed to a small group of friends an important supernatural vision he had. A priest in attendance took note of his words, which we transcribe below:

One day in the year 1847 the Queen of Heaven appeared to me and led me to a lovely garden. A gorgeous porch opened onto a beautiful avenue which prolonged, with a broad perspective, an alley worth seeing, flanked by and covered with marvelous roses in full bloom.

The ground was completely covered with roses. The Blessed Virgin told me: “Take off your shoes.” After I had done it, she added: “Go ahead down that alley; that is the way you should go.”

I started walking but suddenly realized that these flowers concealed extremely sharp thorns, to the point that my feet began to bleed. After taking a few steps, I had to turn back. “At this point I need shoes,” I told my guide. “Of course,” she replied.

I put my shoes on and kept walking down that way with a number of friends who appeared at that very moment, asking to walk with me.

Meanwhile, all those friends – they were very many – watched me walk on the rose bushes and said: “Wow! Look how Don Bosco walks always well over the roses! And how tranquil he remains! For him, everything is easy.” They did not see the thorns tearing up my poor feet.

Many clerics, priests and laity, whom I had invited, were pleased to follow me, attracted by the beauty of those flowers. But as soon as they realized they would be walking on thorns, they retreated and left me alone.

However, I took comfort in the arrival of a new group of excited followers who, having traveled with me all the way down the alley finally arrived at another extremely pleasant garden.

Then the Blessed Virgin Mary — my guide — asked me: “Do you know the meaning of what you have just seen?” I answered. “I beg you to explain it to me.” “You should know that the path you have walked among roses and thorns symbolizes the care you must take of the youth; you must walk in the shoes of mortification.

The thorns on the ground represent the sensitive human affections, sympathies and antipathies that divert a teacher from his true goal, hurt him, hinder his mission and prevent him from forming and reaping wreathes for eternal life. Roses are the symbol of the ardent charity by which you and your associates must distinguish yourselves. The thorns symbolize the obstacles, sufferings and sorrows that await you. But do not lose heart. With charity and mortification you will overcome everything and will have roses without thorns!”

As soon as the Mother of God finished speaking, I came to and found myself in my room.(*)

For starters, it is interesting to note that it is Our Lady who points the way to the saint. She does not say: “Go wherever you want,” but shows him the right path, for God has chosen a path for each one of us; a path which, if we are faithful, we must tread all the way to the end. In the case of Don Bosco, his path was not without many crosses and suffering, symbolized by the thorns that afflicted the great saint. In our earthly life, God wants us to face and overcome obstacles in order to sanctify ourselves and gain merits for Heaven.

As one can see from the words of the saint, people can sometimes wrongly assess the situation of others, seeing only roses and no thorns. In any case, what matters is not the concept that others have of us but what we do before God, Who judges our right intention regardless of what others may think.

Thus, while giving alms to the needy is of itself a good deed, anyone can do it for ostentation instead.

The final comment of the Mother of God is symptomatic in this regard. She warns Saint John Bosco about the dangers inherent to his well-deserving activity of educating the young. Indeed, educators can have attachments, preferences, ulterior motives, dislikes, and so forth. However, when doing something for the love of God, the latter must be our sole motivation, without mixing emotions and movements of the soul that distract us from that love, depriving us of the merits we would gain for our actions.

It is worth noting that Our Lady promises happiness — the rose without thorns — but only at the end. In this earthly life we will face greater or lesser problems and sufferings. Perfect happiness is attained only in the eternal life, for which we must constantly prepare ourselves. Let us emulate Saint John Bosco by doing what God asks of us with courage and perseverance: we will not lack the means to do it. And finally, we will receive the prize that Our Lady has prepared for us: eternal bliss.

General Henri de La Rochejaquelein

While Turreau was thus devastating La Vendée, where were Larochejacquelein, Stofflet, and Charette? Had they forgotten their country and its cause—were they deaf to her cries of distress?

Charette still fought in the depths of the Marais; Stofflet in the recesses of the Bocage; but Larochejacquelein, the young, the brave, the chivalrous, the peasants’ idol and the terror of their foes, lay stiff and cold in a soldier’s grave. He was treacherously slain by two republicans, whose lives he had spared. On the 28th of January he met and defeated the enemy near Chollet.

After the battle, he found two grenadiers hiding behind a hedge. He advanced towards them, crying, “Surrender, and you shall have quarter!” They cast themselves upon their knees, and when he was at barrel’s length from them, one of them shot him through the head. So died Henri de Larochejacquelein, aged only twenty-two. Other chieftains may have displayed more judgment, and others more piety; but none were so brave, none so noble-hearted as he. He was the type of all that was heroic and high-minded and generous; and well might the unhappy survivors exclaim, as they laid him in his grave, “At last it may be said with truth that La Vendée is no more.”

He was buried secretly, lest the knowledge of his death should discourage his own soldiers and animate the enemy.

The burial of Henri de La Rochejaquelein by Alexandre Bloch

George J. Hill, The Story of the War in La Vendée and the Little Chouannerie (New York: D. & J. Sadlier & Co. n.d.), pp. 154-155.

LANGLEY, British Columbia, 29 January, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Canadian Council of Law Deans is doing its best to sabotage efforts by a respected evangelical university in BC to open the country’s first law school run by Christians, all because the university requires students to pledge to adhere to traditional Christian sexual ethics.

Canada’s law deans say that Trinity Western University’s (TWU) “community covenant” on sexual purity is “fundamentally incompatible” with the core values of Canadian law schools and the social values of diversity since it allegedly discriminates against gay, lesbian and bisexual students.

TWU’s “community covenant” is a solemn pledge made by all university members to “voluntarily abstain” from “sexual intimacy that violates the sacredness of marriage between a man and a woman”. The pledge also asks that university members abstain from gossip, slander, lying, cheating, stealing, pornography, and drunkenness.

William Flanagan, president of the council of deans told the National Post that “[t]o admit a new law school that has a policy that expressly discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation is something that is very troubling for us.”

Flanagan wrote in a letter to the Federation of Canadian Law Societies that TWU’s “community covenant” is a “matter of great concern for all members.”

But TWU’s president Jonathan Raymond, responding to the council of deans in a November 29 letter, argued that the university’s “community covenant” is “consistent with federal and provincial law”, according to the Vancouver Sun.

Raymond noted in the letter that this is not the first time TWU has been attacked over the standards of living that it asks of its students.

In 2001, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the BC College of Teachers could not refuse to approve TWU’s application for accreditation of its teacher education program based on its disagreement with the “Community Standards”.

The Supreme Court ruled that TWU has the right to direct itself according to its legal mandate to be a Christian university based on the principles of “freedom of conscience and religion.”

It found that the “voluntary adoption” of a code of conduct in a private institution is not “in itself sufficient to establish discrimination”.

“TWU is not for everybody; it is designed to address the needs of people who share a number of religious convictions,” the Court stated.

Establishing a law school has been part of TWU’s “strategic plan” for many years, the university’s website states. School officials say the plan “fits well with the University’s mission to develop Godly leaders for the marketplaces of life.”

Last year, TWU proposed to the British Columbia Ministry of Advanced Education and the Federation of Law Societies of Canada to establish a J.D. program for 60 students per year in a three-year program starting in September 2015.

The School of Law at TWU will train students to “see the profession of law as a high calling in the life of service.” The program will aim to develop “servant leaders who believe in and demonstrate a different concept of professionalism than the current marketplace promotes.”

John Carpay, president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, criticized Flanagan, the dean of the faculty of law at Queen’s University, for his views on “free society”.

“Flanagan should know that a free society tolerates a wide range of opinion on all topics, including sexual morality. No law compels anyone to agree with Flanagan’s opinions about sex and sexuality, nor is he compelled to agree with Christian teaching about sex and sexuality.”

“For Flanagan to suggest that all Canadian law schools must comply with one, single government-enforced ideology about sexual behaviour is the opposite of a free society. The imposition of one world view on all institutions is the hallmark of totalitarianism,” he said.

Ted Hewlett, president of BC Parents and Teachers for Life, called TWU’s case “extremely significant” for anyone concerned about “religious freedom”.

“It certainly goes beyond Evangelicals,” he told LifeSiteNews from his home in British Columbia.

Hewlett, agreeing with Carpay’s critique, said that a private institution should not be strong-armed into changing its standards by those in high places who do not agree with what that institution stands for.

“I would like to see TWU get their new Law School if they wish to establish one,” he said.

From the allocution of Pius IX to the Roman Patriciate and Nobility on December 29, 1872:

Jesus Christ Himself loved aristocracy; and if I am not mistaken, I expounded upon this idea on another occasion. He too chose to be of noble birth, of the House of David; and His Gospel shows us His family tree down to Joseph and Mary, “de qua natus est Jesus.”

Aristocracy, nobility, therefore, is a gift from God. Preserve it diligently, and use it worthily. You do so already with Christian and charitable works, to which you devote yourselves to the great edification of your fellows and to the great advantage of your souls.

TRIESTE, January 28, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Earlier this month about two hundred homosexualist activists, including a number of local politicians, demonstrated in front of the residence and offices of the Catholic bishop of Trieste. The bishop later told an interviewer that he spent the afternoon, effectively barricaded in his own house, reading and catching up on correspondence.

Archbishop Giampaolo Crepaldi told the diocesan newspaper Vita Nuova (New Life) he was reading a book by American sociologist, Rodney Stark, titled The Triumph of Christianity, “which analyzes, among other things, the many persecutions suffered by Christians in two thousand years of history”. The book, he said, “demonstrates...that in the end, the persecutors pass and Christians continue, because the persecutions purify them and make them stronger. It’s a book that I recommend.”

His offence was having publicly defended the Catholic Church’s teaching on the nature of marriage in the diocesan newspaper. He said the purpose of the demonstration, a display of political power, was to define any opposition to the political agenda as “homophobia” and a criminal offence.

Ultimately the goal of the movement, he told a local newspaper, is to “give legal force and criminal significance to ‘homophobia,’ that those who say publicly - as the Catholic Church has always said - that the only real family that founded on marriage between a man and a woman are declared ‘homophobic, intolerant, racist’ and, therefore, subject to criminal prosecution.

“If you will travel this road,” he added, “anyone who belongs to the Catholic Church and professes its doctrine…will become liable to criminal punishment, even jail.”

The activists outside his door January 12th accused Crepaldi of reviving the “classic racist campaign against gay, lesbian and transgender people” and announced they intend to “prosecute” anyone who opposed their agenda, including churchmen.

Local news reported that two members of the Trieste city council were part of the crowd. Councilors Peter Faraguna and Paul Menis signed a petition “to fight discrimination” against homosexuals and the “promotion of non-discriminatory policies”.

David Zotti, an organizer of the protest and president of the Rainbow Club, indicated that the bishop should not be allowed to speak on Catholic teaching outside the confines of his church.

“The bishop never misses an opportunity to trample the dignity of people and same-sex families, denigrating their lives and making it clear that there can be no legal recognition,” Zotti said.

The demonstration, he added, was also in response to the homily of Pope Benedict XVI on December 21st in which he identified “gender theory” and the global homosexualist movement as a “threat to the foundations” of western society. It was supported by provincial councilors - Štefan Čok, Gianluca Balbi, Nadja Debenjak, Sandy Klun, Matthew Puppi, Sabrina Morena, Marcello Bergamini, Elena Legiša and Majda Canziani and an extreme-left environmentalist political party Sinistra Ecologia e Libertà.

Bishop Crepaldi responded that the accusations made against him are “false and serious,” particularly since he has dedicated his life “to fighting racism and has contributed a great pool of international jurists to rewrite the document of the Holy See against racism”.

The genesis of the demonstration was a public campaign launched by Italy’s leading homosexualist group Arcigay the Christmas season against “homophobia” that involved photos on all city buses of same-sex couples in “intimate family attitudes”. The purpose of the campaign was to demand “equality” in law for “all types of families”.

“The ultimate goal of these campaigns is to undermine what is a cornerstone of civilization, the concept of the family founded on marriage between a man and a woman, equating it to other forms of cohabitation,” Archbishop Crepaldi told Tempi.

He called the homosexualist ideology an “insidious program, disguised as progressive and libertarian, to put a muzzle on all, depriving us of freedom.”

He called the participation of local politicians particularly “disturbing” and said it “has resulted in a black page for democracy and for the honor of the city's institutions”.

“What credibility can a city government claim when two of its members go around with insouciance to demonstrate against the bishop and the Catholic Church? It is good to know that in this city, since the early centuries of Christianity, is protected by a martyr, San Giusto. The Catholic Church of Trieste has been humiliated and I have been treated as a ‘series C’ citizen.”

He called for a halt to the “ideological conformism and a return to discussion in a civilized and constructive dialogue with a sense of respect for others and to value all assets.”

Crepaldi is close to Pope Benedict and was granted the personal rank of archbishop, though Trieste is not an archdiocese. He is the founder and president of the International Observatory Cardinal Van Thuan, a think tank that provides “reasoned information” and “reflections, evaluations and in-depth studies” on the Church’s social doctrine. In a paper for the Observatory, Archbishop Crepaldi warned of a “colonization of human nature” by an ideology that is spreading from Europe around the world, “gender,” an expression of “a nihilistic culture that intends to overcome completely the concept of human nature.”

Catholics, he said, are not asked to take refuge in a small enclave to “cultivate traditional values,” but to compete in the world with a vision of the nature of the human being. “There is a huge cultural work to be done to educate this sense of nature and of human nature. And I’m sorry to see that within the Church and among the Christian communities themselves the importance of this point is often overlooked.”

Crepaldi predicted that the “gender-theory” ideology is driving secular society in Europe towards open persecution against Christianity, “and that it will be tough.”

“There will be the militants, those who seek compromise, those who cheat, will be faithful and there will also be a martyr.”

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

A tulip is such a beautiful flower that upon seeing it one asks oneself if anything prettier could exist. It exists in various colors, including black. It is the only flower I know that exists also in black.

What is its beauty?

Of course it is the beauty of color, but also that of harmony. There is a ratio between height and diameter and the size of each blossom which makes it a masterpiece of coherence.

And when we admire it we feel the joy of being a rational being and feeling the beauty of reason... we do not feel the beauty of fantasy. Fantasy is not present here; reason is. It is an order of beauties such as that of the rose and so many other beauties of wondrous Europe in which everything is balanced, rational and without fantasy (except in a famous Peninsula—Italy—already in the fanciful shape of a boot).

You may ask: “Is this the only beauty of the tulip?” I answer: no. It is very proportional to its stem, does not weigh on the rest, and has the right size: it is a true masterpiece!

It gives us, modern men, an especially interesting teaching. The contemporary mentality is profoundly distorted in its view of an order of values which God has established and that can be considered on the metaphysical plane. Because of his egalitarian tendency, modern man fails to consider as first class many things that really are. According to the modern mentality, if something is not first class it is second class. And when something is seen as "second class" a pejorative connotation already enters: it is a worthless piece of junk.

Can you say that the tulip is a second class flower in relation to the rose? While it is certainly not as beautiful as the rose, it is not second-class in the pejorative sense of the term. It is a beautiful flower that constitutes a wonder of the floral world in its own right. It stands right next to the rose. Upon seeing it one should not even compare it with the rose because it is supreme in its own form of beauty while being less beautiful than the rose. Why? Because revolutionary contemporary man has this stupid idea that anything that is not top notch is rubbish. On the contrary, there are a great many places in the whole gradation of things; and we should love the beauty proper to each degree.

The orchid teaches us modesty and humility in the sense that, while not being the first it finds itself so high in the hierarchy of values and gives such a splendid glory to God Our Lord Who created it that it proves that hierarchy has a reason for being. It is not about beings crushing one another but rather respecting one another in their varying shapes and unequal levels of brilliance. In this sense we could say that the orchid is a flower of anti-egalitarianism.

If the rose is a flower of anti-egalitarianism by displaying beauty to a supreme degree, the orchid is a flower of anti-egalitarianism by showing the beauty of intermediate degrees of which the modern mind is so little understanding.

Black tulip, the “Queen of the Night”

Now, when I heard that black tulips existed I asked myself: What is the use of a black flower? Making cross-shaped wreaths for the deceased? Well, there must be some reason for the existence of black tulips.

The French decorate their shop windows with a particular flair. For example, they will put flowers even in shoe stores and you stop by and end up buying from them because someone really intelligent set a jar with flowers in a corner...

While riding a car in Paris I once saw in a shop window (it was not a florist) a vase with tulips of various colors and a black one right in the middle. How beautiful, I thought. And then I understood why God made black tulips. You cannot imagine how it brought out the beauty of all the other tulips! That black tulip provided such a contrast with the rest that if someone tried to take it out I would say: Don’t do it because it is one of the most beautiful notes of the jar!

That was a rational form of fantasy, a la French. It was a theorem about colors. As the car went by with the speed of the old French cabs of yesteryear – slowly – my eyes marveled at it and my intellect even more so because I understood the reason why God had made that wonder.

“This is a timely and important book as our nation faces one of the most critical challenges in its history. Overcoming the economic disaster America is facing cannot be solved simply through economic policy. Americans and their leaders must put in place policy that will restore values, work ethics, and, as the author points out so well, honor. As a career military officer, honor was the most important attribute to me and my fellow soldiers. Restoring honor to our economic landscape will put the nation on the path to recovery.”

The Pope’s “infallibility will be declared a dogma of Faith by the same Pope chosen to proclaim the dogma of the mystery of my Immaculate Conception. He will be persecuted and imprisoned in the Vatican through the usurpation of the Pontifical States and through the malice, envy, and avarice of an earthly monarch.”

“Unbridled passions will give way to a total corruption of customs because Satan will reign through the Masonic sects, targeting the children in particular to insure general corruption. Unhappy, the children of those times! Seldom will they receive the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation.

As for the sacrament of Penance, they will confess only while attending Catholic schools, which the devil will do his utmost to destroy by means of persons in authority.

“The same will occur with Holy Communion. Oh, how it hurts me to tell you that there will be many and enormous public and hidden sacrileges!

“In those times, the sacrament of Extreme Unction will be largely ignored.… Many will die without receiving it, being thereby deprived of innumerable graces, consolation, and strength in the great leap from time to eternity.

“The sacrament of Matrimony, which symbolizes the union of Christ with the Church, will be thoroughly attacked and profaned. Masonry, then reigning, will implement iniquitous laws aimed at extinguishing this sacrament. They will make it easy for all to live in sin, thus multiplying the birth of illegitimate children without the Church’s blessing.…

“Secular education will contribute to a scarcity of priestly and religious vocations.

“The holy sacrament of Holy Orders will be ridiculed, oppressed, and despised, for in this both the Church and God Himself are oppressed and reviled, since He is represented by His priests. The devil will work to persecute the ministers of the Lord in every way, working with baneful cunning to destroy the spirit of their vocation and corrupting many. Those who will thus scandalize the Christian flock will bring upon all priests the hatred of bad Christians and the enemies of the One, Holy, Roman Catholic, and Apostolic Church. This apparent triumph of Satan will cause enormous suffering to the good pastors of the Church...and to the Supreme Pastor and Vicar of Christ on earth who, a prisoner in the Vatican, will shed secret and bitter tears in the presence of God Our Lord, asking for light, sanctity, and perfection for all the clergy of the world, to whom he is King and Father.”

+++

“Unhappy times will come wherein those who should fearlessly defend the rights of the Church will instead, blinded despite the light, give their hand to the Church’s enemies and do their bidding. But when [evil] seems triumphant and when authority abuses its power, committing all manner of injustice and oppressing the weak, their ruin shall be near. They will fall and crash to the ground.

“Then will the Church, joyful and triumphant like a young girl, reawaken and be comfortably cradled in the arms of my most dear and elect son of those times. If he lends an ear to the inspirations of grace – one of which will be the reading of these great mercies that my Son and I have had toward you – we shall fill him with graces and very special gifts and will make him great on earth and much greater in Heaven. There we have reserved a precious seat for him because, heedless of men, he will have fought for truth and ceaselessly defended the rights of the Church, deserving to be called ‘martyr.’”

+++

“At the end of the nineteenth century and throughout a great part of the twentieth, many heresies will be propagated in these lands.…

“The small number of souls who will secretly safeguard the treasure of Faith and virtues will suffer a cruel, unspeakable, and long martyrdom. Many will descend to their graves through the violence of suffering and will be counted among the martyrs who sacrificed themselves for the country and the Church.

“To be delivered from the slavery of these heresies, those whom the merciful love of my Son has destined for this restoration will need great will-power, perseverance, courage, and confidence in God. To try the faith and trust of these just ones, there will be times when all will seem lost and paralyzed. It will then be the happy beginning of the complete restoration….

“In those times the atmosphere will be saturated with the spirit of impurity which, like a filthy sea, will engulf the streets and public places with incredible license…Innocence will scarcely be found in children, or modesty in women.

“He who should speak seasonably will remain silent.

“There shall be scarcely any virgin souls in the world. The delicate flower of virginity will seek refuge in the cloisters.…Without virginity, fire from heaven will be needed to purify these lands.…

“Sects, having permeated all social classes, will find ways of introducing themselves into the very heart of homes to corrupt the innocence of children. The children’s hearts will be dainty morsels to regale the devil.…

“Religious communities will remain to sustain the Church and work with courage for the salvation of souls.… The secular clergy will fall far short of what is expected of them because they will not pursue their sacred duty. Losing the divine compass, they will stray from the way of priestly ministry mapped out for them by God and will become devoted to money, seeking it too earnestly.

“Pray constantly, implore tirelessly, and weep bitter tears in the seclusion of your heart, beseeching the Eucharistic Heart of my most holy Son to take pity on His ministers and to end as soon as possible these unhappy times by sending to His Church the Prelate who shall restore the spirit of her priests.

Many years ago some Dutchmen managed to bring tulip bulbs to Brazil and to plant them, since here anything will grow...

Way back in the 16th century, when Pero Vaz de Caminha wrote King Dom Manuel of Portugal his first letter from Brazil – a long report in beautiful Portuguese describing the country – he had he that famous phrase: "This land, Lord, is generous and bountiful, and anything you plant will grow” ... And so did tulips as well. Now someone has asked me to make a little description of the tulip in line with our “Ambiences and Customs” section.

Is the tulip the most beautiful of flowers? Not in my view. There are two flowers which I personally prefer to tulips.

The first, obviously, is the rose. Like it or not, an entirely beautiful, perfect and well-finished rose is a glory, a beauty, a marvel, an unequalled symbol of order. It occupies the top spot.

After the rose (and this is a personal opinion which I don’t think is shared by many) there is a flower that grows in Brazil in a marvelous way and I heard even more so in Colombia: the orchid, which has a type of beauty profoundly different from that of the rose.

The rose shows the splendor of order. It is eminently orderly, its petals are all placed in order and all its forms of beauty obey some reasoning. There is nothing planned in the rose. I would be far from making the horrible statement that the rose is all planned in advance. Yet one could say that it was indeed planned by a poet... God Our Lord God planned it and set its role. Everything about the rose is orderly, established, arranged. It has the perfume proper to its type of beauty and possesses the beauty of a pre-established, rational and explicit order. The rose is a wonderful explicitation of the concept of beauty!

If this is true of the rose, the opposite can be said of the orchid. The orchid is rare, unique and holds surprises in store. It has petals that move as it were in a ballet toward directions that no one imagines and forms around a central axis that also varies from one type to another. The orchid’s central part always has a magnificent but unexpected beauty.

For example, it is white on the edge and then red and a deep purple, all the way to a mysterious part inside where you have the impression there is a most sublime vermilion, not shown out of a kind of modesty, on account of that same motion that leads truly far superior things to refrain from showing off while phony things are displayed forthright.

Accordingly, while there are unmatched types of orchid all of them share the beauty of fantasy, of the unexpected – a high distinction that seems to tell the beholder: “Admit that you did not imagine that I am far superior to anything you had expected.”

There is a “touch-me-not” attitude about the orchid that belongs to another family of beauty. It is not the beauty of disorder -- which is devoid of any form of beauty – but the beauty of superior styles of order not built by reasoning but only by fantasy; styles much in accordance with the mentality of Latin American nations and above all, in my view, with that of two psychologically very similar nations: Brazil and Colombia.

In them you see the whimsical, the unexpected, enthusiasm... and at times also resentment, revenge and occasional violence followed soon thereafter by affectionate reconciliation. As I see it, this temperamental back-and-forth is shared by Brazilians and Colombians. And therein stands the orchid, marking peculiar traits of the mentality of peoples that Providence would one day place in the world.

Among other colors - perhaps the most beautiful – is this wine color tending to burgundy – at least when seen against the sun. You see how this color has nothing of the orchid’s undefined color. The most common of orchid colors (they vary widely) is lilac, which has a somewhat undefined tone and at one moment conveys the impression you are looking at the sky and then suddenly changes and you are no longer able to grasp it well. Not so with this wine color: it is a stable, defined color.

The orchid is a parasite but its whole attitude is one of self-sufficiency and independence. Look how haughtily it stands and carries right at its tip, with a kind of balance, its most beautiful part. It is a somewhat haughty balance; its leaves surround a stem and break out to give passage to the stem which overcomes all obstacles and affirms itself almost like a spear. At the top, the petals of these chalices – for they are true red chalices – open up around as in choreography to reveal an even greater inner beauty.

What is a tulip?

A tulip is a beautiful flower. It is such a beautiful flower that upon seeing it one asks oneself if anything prettier could exist. It exists in various colors, including black. It is the only flower I know that exists also in black.

What is its beauty?

Of course it is the beauty of color, but also that of harmony. There is a ratio between height and diameter and the size of each blossom which makes it a masterpiece of coherence.

And when we admire it we feel the joy of being a rational being and feeling the beauty of reason... we do not feel the beauty of fantasy. Fantasy is not present here; reason is. It is an order of beauties such as that of the rose and so many other beauties of wondrous Europe in which everything is balanced, rational and without fantasy (except in a famous Peninsula—Italy—already in the fanciful shape of a boot).

You may ask: “Is this the only beauty of the tulip?” I answer: no. It is very proportional to its stem, does not weigh on the rest, and has the right size: it is a true masterpiece!

It gives us, modern men, an especially interesting teaching. The contemporary mentality is profoundly distorted in its view of an order of values which God has established and that can be considered on the metaphysical plane. Because of his egalitarian tendency, modern man fails to consider as first class many things that really are. According to the modern mentality, if something is not first class it is second class. And when something is seen as "second class" a pejorative connotation already enters: it is a worthless piece of junk.

Can you say that the tulip is a second class flower in relation to the rose? While it is certainly not as beautiful as the rose, it is not second-class in the pejorative sense of the term. It is a beautiful flower that constitutes a wonder of the floral world in its own right. It stands right next to the rose. Upon seeing it one should not even compare it with the rose because it is supreme in its own form of beauty while being less beautiful than the rose. Why? Because revolutionary contemporary man has this stupid idea that anything that is not top notch is rubbish. On the contrary, there are a great many places in the whole gradation of things; and we should love the beauty proper to each degree.

The orchid teaches us modesty and humility in the sense that, while not being the first it finds itself so high in the hierarchy of values and gives such a splendid glory to God Our Lord Who created it that it proves that hierarchy has a reason for being. It is not about beings crushing one another but rather respecting one another in their varying shapes and unequal levels of brilliance. In this sense we could say that the orchid is a flower of anti-egalitarianism.

If the rose is a flower of anti-egalitarianism by displaying beauty to a supreme degree, the orchid is a flower of anti-egalitarianism by showing the beauty of intermediate degrees of which the modern mind is so little understanding.

Black tulip, the “Queen of the Night”

Now, when I heard that black tulips existed I asked myself: What is the use of a black flower? Making cross-shaped wreaths for the deceased? Well, there must be some reason for the existence of black tulips.

The French decorate their shop windows with a particular flair. For example, they will put flowers even in shoe stores and you stop by and end up buying from them because someone really intelligent set a jar with flowers in a corner...

While riding a car in Paris I once saw in a shop window (it was not a florist) a vase with tulips of various colors and a black one right in the middle. How beautiful, I thought. And then I understood why God made black tulips. You cannot imagine how it brought out the beauty of all the other tulips! That black tulip provided such a contrast with the rest that if someone tried to take it out I would say: Don’t do it because it is one of the most beautiful notes of the jar!

That was a rational form of fantasy, a la French. It was a theorem about colors. As the car went by with the speed of the old French cabs of yesteryear – slowly – my eyes marveled at it and my intellect even more so because I understood the reason why God had made that wonder.

At the conclusion of the 40th Annual March for Life, the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) again welcomed foreign delegations to the March at its Washington Bureau.

The evening of January 25 provided the opportunity for friends from far and near to greet the visiting guests, among them Duke Paul of Oldenburg, as well as delegates from the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, and Lithuania.

He then introduced the keynote speaker, Mr. John Horvat II, Vice-President of the American TFP, and author of the much anticipated new book titled Return to Order: From A Frenzied Economy to An Organic Christian Society – Where We’ve Been, How We Got Here, and Where We Need to Go.

Mr. Horvat likened the launching of the book to the launching of a battleship: the culmination of many years of work, but also the beginning of a grand adventure, where the ideas presented will enter the bruising and grueling battle of the modern socioeconomic crisis.

The book comes at a time of great soul-searching for America, and for conservative America in particular. As the storm gathers on the horizon, the principles expounded on in Return to Order will serve as a lighthouse so that we, as a nation, will be able to find safe harbor.

Mr. Horvat then went on to explain what sets Return to Order apart from other books which deal with the topic of economics. Falling in line with the central thesis of frenetic intemperance, he focused on the economic problems and the moral problems which simultaneously plague our nation.

The proper statement of the problem is key: Return to Order exposes the dangerous undercurrent, properly called frenetic intemperance.

The solution to the crisis is found in an organic Christian society.

His insistence on the family, community, and Church being the firm foundation for the practice of virtue resonated well with the audience. With his final remarks, Mr. Horvat poignantly stated that America is worth fighting for, and the timeless principles in Return to Order will be like a fully-armed battleship for the bruising battles ahead. This garnered an enthusiastic standing ovation.

A lively question and answer session followed, with Mr. Horvat fielding a wide variety of questions, from the Church’s teaching on usury to the differences between the ideas in Return to Order and those promoted by distributists.

Mr. Horvat remained to sign books afterward, and audience members eagerly purchased copies and further discussed with the author the many topics addressed. Conversations lingered long into the evening.

With the economic and moral crises in America worsening, the need for a Return to Order is more necessary than ever. Like the Prodigal Son spoken of by Our Lord in the Gospel, let us as a nation realize we have erred, and make the decision to return to Our Father’s house.

Once there, we can discern God’s marvelous plan for America, and build an organic Christian society where all is oriented to the good, the true, and the beautiful.

In the book, Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society—Where We’ve Been, How We Got Here, and Where We Need to Go, we propose an organic Catholic society as a remedy to the present moral and socio-economic crisis.

The words “organic” and “Christian” have been misused to such an extent that it would be good to clarify what is meant by an organic Christian society. A good beginning is to declare what an organic Christian society is NOT.

Below are ten misconceptions about organic Catholic Society.

1. Organic Christian society is NOT the exclusive eating of organic or primitive foods. Rather, it favors the development of distinctive or even refined foods that reflects a culture as might be seen in Italian or French regional cuisine.

2. Such a society does NOT glorify poverty for all. It encourages the natural development of riches in society.

3. Organic Christian society does NOT insist upon the total independence of the family. It is truly a society. Thus, there must be healthy interaction, trade and dependency between members of a community.

4. Organic Christian society does NOT discourage all trade. It encourages trade when needed but not to the point where it dominates local economy.

5. Such a society does NOT understand “local” to be everything within a fifty mile radius. Authentic local products assume a connection between producer, consumer and locality, often over generations.

6. Organic Christian society does NOT exclusively promote smallness. Adjusting to the nature of man and his abilities, it cultivates a culture of small, medium and large-sized properties and enterprises.

7. Organic Christian society is NOT based on the naturalist life of the hippies. While it has spontaneous elements, it is also upright, rational, purposeful, and moral in accordance with natural law and the law of God.

8. Such a society is NOT ecological in the sense of today’s green movement. Organic society does not destroy nature but recognizes man’s dominion over nature and his right to develop it.

9. Organic Christian society is NOT atheistic or pantheistic. It must have the Catholic Church as its center and rely upon supernatural aid and the sacraments to assist men to live together in virtue.

10. It is NOT mediocre. A truly organic Christian society strives to Christian

virtue and perfection. It necessarily leads to a high standard of excellence.

St. Thomas Aquinas

Saint Thomas Aquinas “sets forth the three conditions that legitimize in conscience the use of armed force.”

Philosopher, theologian, doctor of the Church (Angelicus Doctor), patron of Catholic universities, colleges, and schools. Born at Rocca Secca in the Kingdom of Naples, 1225 or 1227; died at Fossa Nuova, 7 March, 1274.

I. LIFE

The great outlines and all the important events of his life are known, but biographers differ as to some details and dates. Death prevented Henry Denifle from executing his project of writing a critical life of the saint. Denifle’s friend and pupil, Dominic Prümmer, O.P., professor of theology in the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, took up the work and published the “Fontes Vitae S. Thomae Aquinatis, notis historicis et criticis illustrati”; and the first fascicle (Toulouse, 1911) has appeared, giving the life of St. Thomas by Peter Calo (1300) now published for the first time. From Tolomeo of Lucca . . . we learn that at the time of the saint’s death there was a doubt about his exact age (Prümmer, op. cit., 45). The end of 1225 is usually assigned as the time of his birth. Father Prümmer, on the authority of Calo, thinks 1227 is the more probable date (op. cit., 28). All agree that he died in 1274.

Landulph, his father, was Count of Aquino; Theodora, his mother, Countess of Teano. His family was related to the Emperors Henry VI and Frederick II, and to the Kings of Aragon, Castile, and France. Calo relates that a holy hermit foretold his career, saying to Theodora before his birth: “He will enter the Order of Friars Preachers, and so great will be his learning and sanctity that in his day no one will be found to equal him” (Prümmer, op. cit., 18). At the age of five, according to the custom of the times, he was sent to receive his first training from the Benedictine monks of Monte Cassino. Diligent in study, he was thus early noted as being meditative and devoted to prayer, and his preceptor was surprised at hearing the child ask frequently: “What is God?”

The Castle of Monte San Giovanni Campano, where St. Thomas was imprisoned by his family for two years.

About the year 1236 he was sent to the University of Naples. Calo says that the change was made at the instance of the Abbot of Monte Cassino, who wrote to Thomas’s father that a boy of such talents should not be left in obscurity (Prümmer, op. cit., 20). At Naples his preceptors were Pietro Martini and Petrus Hibernus. The chronicler says that he soon surpassed Martini at grammar, and he was then given over to Peter of Ireland, who trained him in logic and the natural sciences. The customs of the times divided the liberal arts into two courses: the Trivium, embracing grammar, logic, and rhetoric; the Quadrivium, comprising music, mathematics, geometry, and astronomy . . . . Thomas could repeat the lessons with more depth and lucidity than his masters displayed. The youth’s heart had remained pure amidst the corruption with which he was surrounded, and he resolved to embrace the religious life.

Some time between 1240 and August, 1243, he received the habit of the Order of St. Dominic, being attracted and directed by John of St. Julian, a noted preacher of the convent of Naples. The city wondered that such a noble young man should don the garb of poor friar. His mother, with mingled feelings of joy and sorrow, hastened to Naples to see her son. The Dominicans, fearing she would take him away, sent him to Rome, his ultimate destination being Paris or Cologne. At the instance of Theodora, Thomas’s brothers, who were soldiers under the Emperor Frederick, captured the novice near the town of Aquapendente and confined him in the fortress of San Giovanni at Rocca Secca. Here he was detained nearly two years, his parents, brothers, and sisters endeavouring by various means to destroy his vocation. The brothers even laid snares for his virtue, but the pure-minded novice drove the temptress from his room with a brand which he snatched from the fire. Towards the end of his life, St. Thomas confided to his faithful friend and companion, Reginald of Piperno, the secret of a remarkable favour received at this time. When the temptress had been driven from his chamber, he knelt and most earnestly implored God to grant him integrity of mind and body. He fell into a gentle sleep, and, as he slept, two angels appeared to assure him that his prayer had been heard. They then girded him about with a white girdle, saying: “We gird thee with the girdle of perpetual virginity.” And from that day forward he never experienced the slightest motions of concupiscence.

The time spent in captivity was not lost. His mother relented somewhat, after the first burst of anger and grief; the Dominicans were allowed to provide him with new habits, and through the kind offices of his sister he procured some books — the Holy Scriptures, Aristotle’s Metaphysics, and the “Sentences” of Peter Lombard. After eighteen months or two years spent in prison, either because his mother saw that the hermit’s prophecy would eventually be fulfilled or because his brothers feared the threats of Innocent IV and Frederick II, he was set at liberty, being lowered in a basket into the arms of the Dominicans, who were delighted to find that during his captivity “he had made as much progress as if he had been in a studium generale” (Calo, op. cit., 24).

Thomas immediately pronounced his vows, and his superiors sent him to Rome. Innocent IV examined closely into his motives in joining the Friars Preachers, dismissed him with a blessing, and forbade any further interference with his vocation. John the Teutonic, fourth master general of the order, took the young student to Paris and, according to the majority of the saint’s biographers, to Cologne, where he arrived in 1244 or 1245, and was placed under Albertus Magnus, the most renowned professor of the order. In the schools Thomas’s humility and taciturnity were misinterpreted as signs of dullness, but when Albert had heard his brilliant defence of a difficult thesis, he exclaimed: “We call this young man a dumb ox, hut his bellowing in doctrine will one day resound throughout the world.”

In 1245 Albert was sent to Paris, and Thomas accompanied him as a student. In 1248 both returned to Cologne. Albert had been appointed regent of the new studium generale, erected that year by the general chapter of the order, and Thomas was to teach under him as Bachelor. (On the system of graduation in the thirteenth century see ORDER OF PREACHERS — II, A, 1, d). During his stay in Cologne, probably in 1250, he was raised to the priesthood by Conrad of Hochstaden, archbishop of that city. Throughout his busy life, he frequently preached the Word of God, in Germany, France, and Italy. His sermons were forceful, redolent of piety, full of solid instruction, abounding in apt citations from the Scriptures.

Painting of St. Thomas by Gentile da Fabriano

In the year 1251 or 1252 the master general of the order, by the advice of Albertus Magnus and Hugo a S. Charo (Hugh of St. Cher), sent Thomas to fill the office of Bachelor (sub-regent) in the Dominican studium at Paris. This appointment may be regarded as the beginning of his public career, for his teaching soon attracted the attention both of the professors and of the students. His duties consisted principally in explaining the “Sentences” of Peter Lombard, and his commentaries on that text-book of theology furnished the materials and, in great part, the plan for his chief work, the “Summa theologica“.

In due time he was ordered to prepare himself to obtain the degree of Doctor in Theology from the University of Paris, but the conferring of the degree was postponed, owing to a dispute between the university and the friars. The conflict, originally a dispute between the university and the civic authorities, arose from the slaying of one of the students and the wounding of three others by the city guard. The university, jealous of its autonomy, demanded satisfaction, which was refused. The doctors closed their schools, solemnly swore that they would not reopen them until their demands were granted, and decreed that in future no one should be admitted to the degree of Doctor unless he would take an oath to follow the same line of conduct under similar circumstances. The Dominicans and Franciscans, who had continued to teach in their schools, refused to take the prescribed oath, and from this there arose a bitter conflict which was at its height when St. Thomas and St. Bonaventure were ready to be presented for their degrees. William of St-Amour extended the dispute beyond the original question, violently attacked the friars, of whom he was evidently jealous, and denied their right to occupy chairs in the university. Against his book, “De periculis novissimorum temporum” (The Perils of the Last Times), St. Thomas wrote a treatise “Contra impugnantes religionem”, an apology for the religious orders (Touron, op. cit., II, cc. vii sqq.). The book of William of St-Amour was condemned by Alexander IV at Anagni, 5 October, 1256, and the pope gave orders that the mendicant friars should be admitted to the doctorate.

About this time St. Thomas also combated a dangerous book, “The Eternal Gospel” (Touron, op. cit., II, cxii). The university authorities did not obey immediately; the influence of St. Louis IX and eleven papal Briefs were required before peace was firmly established, and St. Thomas was admitted to the degree of Doctor in Theology. The date of his promotion, as given by many biographers, was 23 October, 1257. His theme was “The Majesty of Christ”. His text, “Thou waterest the hills from thy upper rooms: the earth shall be filled with the fruit of thy works” (Psalm 103:13), said to have been suggested by a heavenly visitor, seems to have been prophetic of his career. A tradition says that St. Bonaventure and St. Thomas received the doctorate on the same day, and that there was a contest of humility between the two friends as to which should be promoted first.

From this time St. Thomas’s life may be summed up in a few words: praying, preaching, teaching, writing, journeying. Men were more anxious to hear him than they had been to hear Albert, whom St. Thomas surpassed in accuracy, lucidity, brevity, and power of exposition, if not in universality of knowledge. Paris claimed him as her own; the popes wished to have him near them; the studia of the order were eager to enjoy the benefit of his teaching; hence we find him successively at Anagni, Rome, Bologna, Orvieto, Viterbo, Perugia, in Paris again, and finally in Naples, always teaching and writing, living on earth with one passion, an ardent zeal for the explanation and defence of Christian truth. So devoted was he to his sacred task that with tears he begged to be excused from accepting the Archbishopric of Naples, to which he was appointed by Clement IV in 1265. Had this appointment been accepted, most probably the “Summa theologica” would not have been written.

Painting by Niklaus Manuel

Yielding to the requests of his brethren, he on several occasions took part in the deliberations of the general chapters of the order. One of these chapters was held in London in 1263. In another held at Valenciennes (1259) he collaborated with Albertus Magnus and Peter of Tarentasia (afterwards Pope Innocent V) in formulating a system of studies which is substantially preserved to this day in the studia generalia of the Dominican Order (cf. Douais, op. cit.).

It is not surprising to read in the biographies of St. Thomas that he was frequently abstracted and in ecstasy. Towards the end of his life the ecstasies became more frequent. On one occasion, at Naples in 1273, after he had completed his treatise on the Eucharist, three of the brethren saw him lifted in ecstasy, and they heard a voice proceeding from the crucifix on the altar, saying “Thou hast written well of me, Thomas; what reward wilt thou have?” Thomas replied, “None other than Thyself, Lord” (Prümmer, op. cit., p. 38). Similar declarations are said to have been made at Orvieto and at Paris.

On 6 December, 1273, he laid aside his pen and would write no more. That day he experienced an unusually long ecstasy during Mass; what was revealed to him we can only surmise from his reply to Father Reginald, who urged him to continue his writings: “I can do no more. Such secrets have been revealed to me that all I have written now appears to be of little value” (modica, Prümmer, op. cit., p. 43). The “Summa theologica” had been completed only as far as the ninetieth question of the third part (De partibus poenitentiae).

Carving of St. Thomas in the Dominican Church in Friesach, Austria.

Thomas began his immediate preparation for death. Gregory X, having convoked a general council, to open at Lyons on 1 May, 1274, invited St. Thomas and St. Bonaventure to take part in the deliberations, commanding the former to bring to the council his treatise “Contra errores Graecorum” (Against the Errors of the Greeks). He tried to obey, setting out on foot in January, 1274, but strength failed him; he fell to the ground near Terracina, whence he was conducted to the Castle of Maienza the home of his niece the Countess Francesca Ceccano. The Cistercian monks of Fossa Nuova pressed him to accept their hospitality, and he was conveyed to their monastery, on entering which he whispered to his companion: “This is my rest for ever and ever: here will I dwell, for I have chosen it” (Psalm 131:14). When Father Reginald urged him to remain at the castle, the saint replied: “If the Lord wishes to take me away, it is better that I be found in a religious house than in the dwelling of a lay person.” The Cistercians were so kind and attentive that Thomas’s humility was alarmed. “Whence comes this honour”, he exclaimed, “that servants of God should carry wood for my fire!” At the urgent request of the monks he dictated a brief commentary on the Canticle of Canticles.

The end was near; extreme unction was administered. When the Sacred Viaticum was brought into the room he pronounced the following act of faith:

If in this world there be any knowledge of this sacrament stronger than that of faith, I wish now to use it in affirming that I firmly believe and know as certain that Jesus Christ, True God and True Man, Son of God and Son of the Virgin Mary, is in this Sacrament . . . I receive Thee, the price of my redemption, for Whose love I have watched, studied, and laboured. Thee have I preached; Thee have I taught. Never have I said anything against Thee: if anything was not well said, that is to be attributed to my ignorance. Neither do I wish to be obstinate in my opinions, but if I have written anything erroneous concerning this sacrament or other matters, I submit all to the judgment and correction of the Holy Roman Church, in whose obedience I now pass from this life.

He died on 7 March, 1274. Numerous miracles attested his sanctity, and he was canonized by John XXII, 18 July, 1323. The monks of Fossa Nuova were anxious to keep his sacred remains, but by order of Urban V the body was given to his Dominican brethren, and was solemnly translated to the Dominican church at Toulouse, 28 January, 1369. A magnificent shrine erected in 1628 was destroyed during the French Revolution, and the body was removed to the Church of St. Sernin, where it now reposes in a sarcophagus of gold and silver, which was solemnly blessed by Cardinal Desprez on 24 July, 1878. The chief bone of his left arm is preserved in the cathedral of Naples. The right arm, bestowed on the University of Paris, and originally kept in the St. Thomas’s Chapel of the Dominican church, is now preserved in the Dominican Church of S. Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome, whither it was transferred during the French Revolution.

A description of the saint as he appeared in life is given by Calo (Prümmer, op. cit., p. 401), who says that his features corresponded with the greatness of his soul. He was of lofty stature and of heavy build, but straight and well proportioned. His complexion was “like the colour of new wheat”: his head was large and well shaped, and he was slightly bald. All portraits represent him as noble, meditative, gentle yet strong. St. Pius V proclaimed St. Thomas a Doctor of the Universal Church in the year 1567. In the Encyclical “Aeterni Patris”, of 4 August, 1879, on the restoration of Christian philosophy, Leo XIII declared him “the prince and master of all Scholastic doctors”. The same illustrious pontiff, by a Brief dated 4 August, 1880, designated him patron of all Catholic universities, academies, colleges, and schools throughout the world.

The finger of St. Thomas Aquinas on display in the church museum in Sant’Eustorgio (Milan, Italy).